Cognitive Functions 101
Cognitive what?
If you're new to MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator), chances are you have never heard of cognitive functions. However, you may be familiar with personality types like “ISFP” or “ENTJ” – those are MBTI types (not to be confused with the 16personalities online test, which can be distinguished by a fifth letter – T or A – which doesn't exist in MBTI).
Note: MBTI is not a science. It's merely a set of descriptors of how you think.
Now, you may also have seen statements like this: “MBTI can't describe me because I'm neither an introvert nor an extrovert! I'm an ambivert – ANTP!” This is based on a misunderstanding on what MBTI is and how it works.
MBTI is an attempt at describing and categorizing mental processes. This is done in the form of the so-called “cognitive functions” developed by psychoanalyst Carl Jung. One way to categorize these functions is by whether they are focused outwardly (“extroverted functions”) or inwardly (“introverted functions”). The first letter of your MBTI type – E or I – does not describe if you are introverted or extroverted, but your preferred Cognitive Function.
Overview
The cognitive functions are sensing, intuiting, feeling, and thinking. The first two are considered “perceiving” functions, the last two are “judging functions”
According to Jung, each of those functions can be either extroverted (focused on the outside world) or introverted (focused on yourself/ your inside world)
Extroverted perceiving functions:
How you “take in” and experience information. Extroverted sensing (Se) is more stimulated by tangible information (e.g. the things you can see and hear) while extroverted intuition (Ne) is more stimulated by abstract information (e.g. theoretical concepts and possibilities)
Introverted perceiving functions:
How you process and store information to “guide” you/ compare new information to. Introverted sensing (Si) compares tangible information (e.g. sensory memory) while introverted intuition (Ni) compares abstract information (e.g. “deeper meaning”)
Introverted judging functions:
How you subjectively judge things and form personal opinions: Introverted feeling (Fi) judges things based on how you feel about them (e.g. “do i feel like this is a right or a wrong thing to do?”) while introverted thinking (Ti) judges things based on internal logical consistency (e.g. “does this make sense to me?”)
Extroverted judging functions:
How you judge and react to the external environment. They're goal-oriented. Extroverted feeling (Fe) focuses on other people's feelings and acts towards group consensus while extroverted thinking (Te) focuses on external facts and knowledge and acts towards efficiency (e.g. “how can i use this knowledge to my advantage”)
Stacks
The function that comes most naturally to you is called your dominant function. It's the function you usually resort to, the one that's the most energizing (while others may be draining).
However, you can never only use one function. If you only ever used perceiving functions, you would never form an opinion on or act on what you see. If you only used judging functions, you wouldn't have any information to judge in the first place. If you only used introverted functions, you'd never interact with the outside world. If you only used extroverted functions, you'd never interact with your inner world.
So your dominant function needs to “work together” with another function, called your auxiliary function. If your dominant function is introverted, your auxiliary will be extroverted (and vice versa). If your dominant function is a perceiving function, you auxiliary will be a judging function (and vice versa)
Next problem: the support of your auxiliary function isn't always right for any given situation. For example, let's assume someone's auxiliary function is Si: Si compares new information to what it already knows. This can best be done in a structured environment with a routine you know well; so people who prefer to use Si thrive in that kind of environment. When confronted with something new, Si will try to cope with it by comparing it to similar changes that have happened in the past. Naturally that doesn't always work (for example when you haven't been a in similar situation you can compare the new one to)
Ne, on the other hand, thrives in new situations: it's stimulated by abstract information, and the same abstract information is never as stimulating twice. So Ne looks for new situations and possibilities left and right
When someone who prefers to use Si lands in a situation where using Si doesn't work, they have to resort to using its opposite: Ne
The opposite of your auxiliary function is called your tertiary function. The opposite of your dominant function is called your inferior function. These two are there two “balance” the first two out. The lower a function is in your stack, the more difficult it is for you to use. The opposite of a perceiving function will be the perceiving function where both letters are different – so Se is the opposite of Ni and Ne is the opposite of Si. Same goes for the judging functions (Te-Fi and Fe-Ti). The two opposite functions combined are called a “function axis”
Many people don't have big issues resorting to their tertiary function when needed (though they wouldn't be able to use it as well as someone who uses that function as a dominant one). It might even be more within your comfort zone than your auxiliary function, but that can lead to the problems I mentioned earlier – using only introverted or only extroverted functions. The inferior function is much more difficult because it goes against your “natural instinct” of your dominant function. But over time you learn to use your lower functions too. This is called function development
So, in summary, you use four functions – one perceiving axis and one judging axis. There is currently no consensus among MBTI experts on whether or not you use the other four functions – called “Shadow Functions”
From the outside
Functions are mental processes, so you can't directly observe them in others (some people think you can observe the functions through visual typing, but that's another discussion)
However, there are a few things you can observe:
Our dominant function is our comfort zone, the most energizing function, and often the one we're best at. This means that we gravitate towards situations where our dominant function can be used best. For example, Se can best be used in stimulating (sensory-wise) environments, so dominant Se* might be observable as sensory-seeking behavior. Ne is responsible for taking in abstract information – it sees patterns everywhere, and when it finds new information, it connects it to what it already knows. This can only be done when you get new information – which is why Ne-doms are often novelty-seeking and don't enjoy repetition and routine
On the other hand, our inferior function is uncomfortable and often difficult to use, so we might avoid situations that would force us to use it. When we do use it, it might quickly become apparent that we're not good at it (Note: the more developed your inferior function is, the less obvious this point will be, and the less avoidant you'll be of using it) For example, someone with inferior Fe may not feel comfortable in situations where they would be responsible for other people's feelings in some way; They're usually not good at comforting others or apologizing to them. Someone with inferior Se, as another example, might quickly become overstimulated by too much sensory information.